UPF will be presenting its capacity for innovation at the 4 Years From Now (4YFN) entrepreneurship fair: it will be showcasing various R&D projects, spinoffs and startups at this international meeting in the field of entrepreneurship, to be held in Barcelona between 28 June and 1 July.

4YFN is a meeting organized by the GSMA in the framework of the Mobile World Congress (MWC). The fair promotes connections between startups, investors, enterprise and institutions to boost new business ideas and encourage the growth of innovative ecosystems.

“We want to take advantage of our presence at the 4YFN to give visibility to innovative projects emerging from our community and, in turn, establish links with other stakeholders in order to explore means of collaboration and attracting investment”, explains the UPF vice-rector for Knowledge Transfer, Eulàlia de Nadal.

“We want to take advantage of our presence at the 4YFN to give visibility to innovative projects emerging from our community and, in turn, establish links with other stakeholders in order to explore means of collaboration and attracting investment”

The UPF rector, Oriol Amat, will be visiting the 4YFN on 28 June. Moreover, one of the spinoffs present at the fair, the company LUCID technology, will also be taking part in the Barcelona Deep Tech Startup Demoday, a meeting organized by Barcelona Activa which will take place on 29 June at which different companies emerging from Catalan universities will present their projects to investors, venture capital firms and corporations.

The UPF booth (located in Hall 2, position 2G7A) will have several spaces where visitors can find out about the University’s knowledge and technology portfolio and the following R&D projects:

• OrganAId: an initiative of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, UPF-CSIC), developed in collaboration with the CNAG-CRG working on personalized medical solutions applied to neurodevelopmental diseases. To do so, they use organoids (miniature reproductions of human organs) and image analysis tools based on artificial intelligence.
• TELMI-SkyNote: an intelligent system for music learning based on state-of-the-art audio analysis techniques and artificial intelligence that provides feedback in real time on the sound and gestures of music students.

Both projects aim shortly to become incorporated. UPF will also be showcasing two spinoff companies created to bring technologies and knowledge generated at the University to market. They are:

• Integra Therapeutics: a company created to develop gene editing tools for application in clinical practice. Its technology allows modifying the genome of patients to address genetic diseases and some cancers.
• LUCID technology: this company is engaged in developing, manufacturing and marketing software and hardware solutions for processing image signals from the audiovisual and entertainment industries.

Finally, the stand will feature spaces for the following startups driven by members of the university community with the support of UPF:

• Ethical Time: has created a community of ethical and sustainable fashion with more than 150 brands and a system for verifying the social and environmental practices of so-called Real Sustainable Fashion companies.
• EXPAI: it offers a solution that enables explaining models of artificial intelligence, so as to increase their efficiency and identify possible biases, bolstering user confidence.
• LocalProductos: is an online marketplace that was created in order to support local brands, artisans and trade throughout Spain.
• MASKIN: this project has created a transparent mask with a screen that has antimicrobial and anti-fog properties and allows seeing the mouth of the wearer.
• MyRealFood: is a mobile application that allows users to know if a product is healthy, follow dietary plans with recipes and share their experiences with the community.
• Onetap: provides interactive, gamified experiences for attendees at cultural spaces and events through web apps.

All UPF projects participating at the 4YFN are in the process of attracting investment to boost their growth.